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MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – While the Southeastern Conference was accidentally welcoming the Missouri Tigers to the conference; the Big XII Conference plucked another football power from the rapidly collapsing Big East Conference.

The Big East Conference, which was home to the University of Miami for years, has lost Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and TCU in recent weeks. Now, the conference has lost West Virginia to the Big XII, according to CBSSports.com.

West Virginia was selected earlier in the week, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and others made a last-second pitch for the conference to take Louisville instead of West Virginia.

But those pleas fell on deaf ears as the Big XII had made its selection.

With West Virginia’s departure, the once powerful conference now has only UConn, Rutgers, South Florida, and Louisville.

UConn has openly said it would like to join the ACC and Louisville could lobby the Big XII to join if the conference expands back to 12 teams.

The Big East is trying to rebuild by adding Navy, Air Force, and possibly Boise State.

But, even with those additions, the likelihood that the Big East keeps it’s automatic BCS qualifying spot is growing more remote by the hour.